Friday, August 28, 2009

Dr. Shanan speaks to Hospice as the Answer

Dr. Amir Shanan has been a Veterinary Hospice Practitioner at his hospital Compassionate Veterinary Care in Chicago Illinois for twenty years. http://www.compassionatevet.com/index.html
He is the Founder of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. www.iaahpc.com  (see The First Post below and right column of this blog) which will have its first meeting in conjunction with the Second Symposium on Veterinary Hospice and Palliative Care Sept 4-7 at UC Davis College of Veterinary Medicine (see below).  Please read his thoughtful comments that explain how Hospice can help us proceed through the grief process on a healthy emotional path as well as provide the most comfortable and humane path for the pet members of our families:


Amir Shanan, Hospice Veterinarian said...
Dear Jamie,
There's no way to prevent the emotional pain we feel when we lose a source of unconditional love with the passing of a beloved animal companion.

But grief can be complicated by many factors, and some of those are preventable. An important goal of hospice is to address any preventable cause of complicated grief.

Animal hospice works towards this goal in the following ways:
1. Providing support. Having support is important because grief is inherently a very lonely experience. Support is helpful not only after the loss, but also before and during the loss. Support can be offered through active listening, being a sounding board in the process of making complicated decisions, taking over nursing care or nonmedical tasks periodically or regularly, and many other ways of showing empathy.
2. Second guessing our own actions [and others'] often makes grief more painful that it could be. Hospice philosophy is focused on assisting the family in making the very best decisions and on assuring the greatest comfort possible for the patient. This approach can alleviate at least some of the burden of guilt and self criticism.
3. Having an opportunity to spend much needed time with and saying goodbyes to your dying companion can be their last gift to surviving family members and a source of comfort during the inevitable grief that follows.

Please encourage your audience to actively support the increasing number of organizations dedicated to educating animal lovers and veterinary professionals about the benefits of animal hospice.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Why is it so hard when a pet dies?

"Goodbye My Friend
I know I will never see you again,
But the love you gave me through all the years
Will take away these tears
It's OK now
You can go now
Goodbye my friend"

Karla Bonoff

Losing a pet, at any age can be one of the most difficult things we can go through in our lives. Why is it so hard? It can be as bad or even worse than losing a close human family member. I think that this is for a few reasons: our pets give true unconditional love, the loss seems too large to accept, and we can not mourn properly for them.

Our pets give us true, unconditional love. How many people can do this? Pets give and want no more then to give more. They never are resentful or too tired to show you how much they love you. In my opinion, animals are capable of great love and devotion with no strings attached. When you have a special pet, the bond you can share is almost indescribable and deepens over the years. We can grow to understand and communicate with our special fur friend in a truly delightful way. This is not a one way relationship; they always seem to know when YOU need some special attention. When this deep playful, reciprocal love is taken by the death of your pet, the loss can be as deep as the love was.

When we are close to people, we still have disagreements. In my opinion, there is no baggage when a pet dies. I know this sounds terrible. When my 16 year old cat Stahzy died. I was inconsolable. I am a Veterinarian who had to deal with death daily. It did not matter when it happened to me. I had no regrets or guilt about the relationship with my cat. I wanted her back so badly, I truly was not sure I could go on without her. I knew that I appreciated her everyday, and told her I loved her. I do not understand, but this made my grief worse. It was, to me, the most perfect love I could experience with another living creature in this imperfect life. This loss seemed too great to accept.

When we have such a deep loss, unless we mourn properly it is very difficult to move through the stages of grief. In our society, even though our closest pets have been elevated to precious family members we can not grieve for them properly. I believe we need chapels, funerals, personal days and more to truly acknowledge this loss. It is very difficult to process these feelings when we are embarrassed that they are from a pet's death. We should be allowed to own this grief not be embarrassed by it. Part of the job of advocating for Animal Hospice is to ensure the physical comfort of our pets, and the emotional needs of the grieving owner are met as well. We need to understand the death process and understand this is a natural part of the life of the animals we love.

I know I may be simplifying a very complicated issue, and this is just my opinion. However, there is a big disconnect in our society between how important animals have become for us and the allowances made us when they die. The loss in some ways seem worse than a family member, and we are so devastated because it is difficult to pass through the stages of grief. We need to all work together to try to remedy this. We need to make efforts be an empathetic friend to those near us who lose a pet. We need to find ways to memorialize our pets, remember them and celebrate their lives. Acknowledging how large our loss is the first step towards working through it. Seeking pet cemeteries, chapels, having a funeral and talking about our grief can help.

If you need help, I encourage you to speak to a counselor, a Pet Loss Hotline, your Veterinarian and your friends who have been through a similar situation. Memorialize your pet, celebrate their lives.
Compehensive list of Pet Loss Hotlines: http://is.gd/2xI6H
from www.rainbowbridge.com another excellent resource

I also invite you to comment here and join me on About.com to discuss these ideas and how they have affected you: http://is.gd/2xHIz


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Who should go to the 2nd Hospice Symposium for Animals?

In the words of the The Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets (www.pethospice.org) and The Assisi International Animal Institute (www.assisianimals.org) sponsers of the Second International Symposium on Veterinary Hospice and Pallative Care, the meeting is highly reccomended

for veterinarians, holistic veterinarians, veterinary technicians, veterinary students, veterinary assistants, clinical practice managers, hospice professionals, hospice program managers, hospice volunteers, nursing personnel, medical staff, professionals in complementary and alternative medicine, psychologists, grief counselors, social workers, mental health professionals, bereavement facilitators, hospice volunteers, animal health care practitioners, shelter and SPCA staff, animal welfare workers, animal communicators, pet massage therapists, pet-sitters, animal chaplains, funeral directors and others in related fields, as well as the general public.

Shay, who was very ill when rescued, greatly appreciated pain control and comfort techniques her care takers learned through Veterinary Hospice training. Please come and learn what you can do to advance this new field!

Check out: http://www.cevs.ucdavis.edu/confreg/index.cfm?confid=442

Please send this to everyone who may be interested in this great opportunity to learn,
engage, discuss, and bring Hospice Care to more pets!


2nd International Symposium on Veterinary Hospice and Palliative Care

Blanco is 29 years old and in mild discomfort from arthritis. As he gets older, he DESERVES to be made comfortable and have his treatment and welfare to be foremost in his caretakers mind. Our animals, pets and friends deserve to have Hospice and Palliative Care as a choice in their end of life options. They deserve to be as pain free as modern Veterinary Medicine can provide. Veterinary Hospice is a new field. We NEED EVERYONE who is concerned about animals, work with animals, love animals, and care about animals learn about Hospice Care For Animals . On September 4-7, 2009 (over Labor Day) at the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine YOU can be part of the historic Second International Symposium on Veterinary Hospice and Palliative Care. The first day is an optional tour of BrightHaven a holistic Hospice for Animals and Pet Sanctuary founded by Gail and Richard Pope. (www.brighthaven.org) The rest of the program is filled with the latest information from the leading experts in Veterinary Pain Management, Hospice Philosophy and History, Animal Communicators, How to Implement a Hospice Practice, Personal Experiences, and much more. This is the opportunity to be involved with the beginning of a new field that greatly needs new people to bring this back to every community to give every pet the chance for Hospice Care. Blanco would appreciate it if you would come to this meeting and help change the face of pet care!